


I Need Someone (To Spend Time With)

by multifandomhq



Category: American Housewife
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys In Love, First Kiss, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Oliver and Cooper are gay and you can pry this ship from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:40:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23337802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multifandomhq/pseuds/multifandomhq
Summary: Cooper’s absent parents miss his birthday and he really, really doesn’t want to be alone right now.Title from ‘Someone To Spend Time With’ by Los Retros
Relationships: Cooper Bradford/Oliver Otto
Comments: 12
Kudos: 115





	I Need Someone (To Spend Time With)

**Author's Note:**

> despite the multiple times he has denied it, i am utterly CONVINCED that oliver otto is gay. homosexual. HE LIKES BOYS. anyways enjoy this whole loaf of bread rather than the breadcrumbs we receive on the show <3

*.+

_My sweetheart, where are you? I need someone to spend time with, to give and share all my love._

Contrary to what those believed, Cooper’s life was  _not_ perfect. Sure his family was the richest in Westport, but it didn’t feel that way. The luxuries did, of course, but the family part was what he was lacking.

People often imagined him to be an emotionless, ignorant, spoiled brat. He lived up to the spoiled brat part, but he had emotions, a lot of them actually. Loneliness was a common one.

To others, it may seem like living alone in an estate with no adult supervision was ideal. Cooper even led others to believe that, but it was in fact lonely. Excruciatingly lonely. There was rarely ever a time where the Bradford house wasn’t dull and stilled. There was no one to look to for advice, no one to skip with on bring your child to work day, no one to ground him after making a profoundly idiotic decision, and most importantly, no one to tell him that they were proud of him. 

Katie Otto was the closet thing Cooper Bradford had to a mother. She cared about him, congratulated him, fed him, and corrected him when he was wrong. Though not biological, he truly felt like the Otto’s were his family. He felt as though their house was his home. 

The only home he has ever known. 

* * *

It, unfortunately, wasn’t much of a surprise when Cooper’s parents canceled on coming home for his birthday. He looked forward to it for weeks. The party his nanny’s and au pairs threw him every year were just fine, but nothing could equate to spending time with his parents. 

Before the cancellation, Cooper was elated. He talked up the moment to his best friend, Oliver, so much that Oliver called _him_ unbearable. The comment didn’t phase him though, because his parents were finally coming home for his birthday and there wasn’t a person or thing that could defuse his euphoria. 

He made sure he was clad in his best clothes. He made sure the housekeeper kept the house completely spotless. He made sure he had plenty of achievements and life anecdotes to share. He made sure everything was perfect. The one thing he failed to make sure of was their actual arrival.

Cooper anxiously checked his phone awaiting the time to hit 1:30. That was the time his parents would arrive in Westport and they could have a nice birthday brunch. After the clock struck 1:37, his anxiety only grew. He reassured himself they were only late. They’d still eventually show. 

To pass time, he went to the basement to engage in a variety of activities. First, he bowled against himself and even won. Secondly, he went to the arcade and played some of his favorite games, even the old ones like Dig Dug. He even went to see a movie, but he swore the usher shot him a judging look when he only purchased one ticket. 

The movie turned into two, and two turned into four. Despite not wanting to, Cooper finally admitted to himself that his parents were not coming. 

This was a usual occurrence, but this time really stung. All of the other times hurt, but this one had the greatest impact. During his previous birthdays, his parents never promised to make an appearance so he was content with whatever the help gave him. This year, he allowed himself to have hope. He allowed himself to want it so much he thought it might actually happen.

So here was, wallowing in self-pity at 11 o’clock at night. He tried to keep his mind off of it, that this year was just like any other and he had no reason to be upset, but the ache in his heart still sat there. Not only was he hurt, but he was also embarrassed. He just about talked Oliver’s ear off about this moment just for it to result in it not happening. 

Oliver. 

* * *

The doorbell rang at the Otto’s house at a strangely late time. A majority of Westport was asleep at this time to get their precious full 8 hours. Everyone else in the house was asleep but Oliver and Katie.

Katie was cooking a last-minute lasagna after Luthor ate one of her client’s orders and Oliver was busy trying to trace yet another person from the Teen Help Line. It had been unsuccessful the first time, but this time he made sure to keep the person's voice in factor. He’d also  not  reveal that he knew their name to the person either. 

“Well Oliver, go get it! I’m busy here.” Katie frustratingly said. 

Oliver opened the door to reveal a melancholy-ridden Cooper. He appeared as if he had been crying for God knows how long. “Hey man, what’re you doing here?” The concern and surprise were apparent in his voice. A choked sob escaped Cooper’s lips. “I don’t want to be alone right now.” 

With that, he embraced Oliver in a tight hug that he reluctantly returned.  _ Why was he crying at his doorstep and nearly midnight? _

He decided the matter of why wasn’t important, what really mattered was what he could do and how could he help. He guided the boy into his house and onto the couch. After sharing a pointed glance with his mom, Cooper and Oliver were left alone in the room.

The silence in the room grew as neither parties spoke. Oliver supposed conversation wasn’t needed, only comfort, but he had to admit how weird it was that these two were sitting silently. Usually, the two would never shut up and had a plethora of things to either say or do. 

Perhaps it was better this way. Oliver lacked things to say. How do you comfort someone when you have no clue what was wrong?

Before he could stop himself, he questioningly said “Happy birthday?” It must’ve been the wrong thing to say because after the words escaped his lips, tears came falling out of Cooper’s already red eyes. Touchy subject, he noted. 

He decided to try a different approach. “How was your day?” A slight laugh was earned.

“Dude, no offense, but you are so bad at this! Shouldn’t you be like an expert, Teen Help Line and all?” Cooper joked. The pair began to laugh together, but unfortunately, Cooper’s laughs faded into light sobs. A soothing hand was rubbed in circles across his back in an attempt to make him better.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what to say if I don’t know what’s wrong.” 

Sigh. The airy and light mood in the room soon sombered. 

“You know how my parents were coming home for my birthday?” A mere nod.

“And I was slightly annoying about how great it would be because they’re never home?”

Another nod, followed by an emphasized mockery on the word  _slightly_. 

“Well, surprise surprise. They didn’t show. I know, I know, they’re never really here, but it’s my birthday. They promised me they’d show, but they completely blew me off with zero warning. This is something I should be used to by now but for some reason, it really hurts. I guess it’s my fault for getting my hopes up in the first place, hope is for suckers. I’m such an idiot. And I never should’ve bothered you about this in the first place. You don’t care. I’ll go.” His words spiraled.

As he rose from the couch to leave, Oliver’s hand quickly grabbed his and pulled him back. “No, stay. I care.” He whispered. His eyes steadily held contact with a genuine look of kindness in them. 

“Okay.” His heart soared.

* * *

For the remainder of their conversation, Oliver’s hand never left his. In fact, his thumb caressed circles on the back of the Cooper’s hand. It was extremely comforting, in the least. 

While Cooper talked and rambled on, Oliver vacantly listened but found himself glancing at his best friend’s lips from time to time. He could distantly hear Cooper talk about how being alone was great at times. He felt bad for not completely listening, but in his defense, all he could focus on was Cooper’s lips.

They looked very kissable right now. 

Subconsciously, he felt himself slowly closing the gap between the two. Cooper didn’t really seem to notice all that much at first, off in his own world, but the closer they got, the more aware he became of what was happening. “Are you trying to kiss me right now?” He stupidly asked. 

“Yeah. May I?” Oliver shyly responded. 

“Oh.” 

A beat of silence.

“Carry on.” 

With a smile, Oliver connected their lips. The kiss was filled with gentleness, passion, and yearning all in one. While kissing him, Oliver realized how long he’s been wanted to do this. This moment and the whole Will thing allowed him to realize that. He did wonder how he was going to tell his parents after all those years of constant denial, though. 

For Cooper, all that happened prior to this was forgotten. He was kissing Oliver Otto, and to him, that was the best birthday gift he could ever have. 

After they departed, the two shared a lazily happy glance. “Dude, I am  so  gonna be an Otto now,” Cooper said with a giggle. Oliver just shook his head in return. 

“Mother-son pride parade!” Katie whisper-yelled from the top of the stairs. 

“Mom!” He’d have to get used to this. 

It was okay, though, because he had Cooper to go through it with him. And just like his dad had previously said, Cooper would be with them for a long time.

_My sweetheart, where are you? I need someone to spend time with, to give and share all my love._

_*.+_

* * *

_Bonus: Cooper constantly calling Oliver “mi novio.”_

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments maybe ? i know this isn’t my best work but it’s something right? hehe thanks for reading love u bae


End file.
